Читать книгу If Your Child Is Gay - Steven F Kindle - Страница 5

Foreword

This book is intended to introduce parents of gay children to the many findings from the professional psychologists, sociologists and theologians who have given their lives to understand your gay child. It will also be reassuring to adolescent LGBTs and older. It will introduce you to many parents who have gone before you in their quest for understanding and who want to share their wisdom with you. It is packed with helpful advice and places to go for help. It’s a way to begin and a launching pad for further discovery. Should you wish to delve deeper into specific areas, you will be shown where to go.

I am a straight pastor who began my ministry over 40 years ago with the conventional beliefs of the day that saw homosexuality as a psychological deviance and a religious sin. I believed that LGBTs chose this lifestyle and could change if they wanted to. Of course, I was not familiar with the many studies you will be introduced to in this book, or much more importantly, I was not familiar with gays themselves. Over the years, I have gotten to know many hundreds of LGBTs, even into the thousands, heard their stories, helped them work through their fears, and find their way in an often hostile world. Being instrumental in reconciling parents with their gay children is one of my proudest accomplishments and the genesis for this book. I want you and your family to be among the success stories.

Many who read these pages will come with religious convictions, one way or another. The scientific professionals are not the only ones who have been involved in how to understand homosexuality. Biblical scholars have for decades been delving into the Bible, examining everything that relates to these issues. What they have discovered is also a part of this book. The combined efforts of the scientists and biblical scholars can be summed up in the words of Dr. Mel White. “The verdict is in; it is not a sickness, it is not a sin.” So, let’s begin.